Branding Yourself: Tips and advice on how to do it

Hello Everyone,

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope your summer is going well, that you are getting outside more and having an enjoyable summer. And while you’re relaxing, you might have some quiet moments to reflect on your brand. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about branding lately. Maybe it’s because of my recent activities? I attended personal branding pioneer William’s Arruda’s session on LinkedIn at the Association for Talent Development (ATD formerly ASTD) conference in May. In June, I spoke to the Women’s International Trade Association and held a webinar for The Women’s Center on branding yourself on LinkedIn. These experiences motivated me to continue to develop my own brand. 

In addition, I have been intentionally making some steady branding improvements on my LinkedIn profile (LinkedIn.com/in/paulabrandcareers). I recently changed my summary and background image (my beach picture turned into asters). Last year, I updated my headline and in the near future, I plan to update my headshot. The other day, I had the idea to add my year of travel as an entry under experience. Feel free to let me know what you think of these changes.

Since I’m in the branding zone, I thought I’d make that the theme for this issue. The posts shared below along with the LinkedIn Tip of the Month share advice and tips for building your brand. I hope this issue inspires you to develop yours. Let me know if you need help.

Finally, some future notes… 1) Don’t forget that August 28th is Women’s Equality Day and 2) Look out for our reader survey – coming in the next newsletter issue (in September). 

Enjoy your branding journey,
Paula

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One of the best ways to brand yourself on LinkedIn is by using the right keywords throughout your profile. The most important area is in your headline because it is the most heavily weighted field on LinkedIn for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  The default setting will be for the system to fill in your most recent job or education, but you can edit it as you see fit. You are allowed 120 characters on the website (and more on the mobile app) to make the best use of this space.

I updated my headline last year (I wrote about this and shared the trick for more character space for your headline).

Since that update, I have been seeing an increase in inquiries and one new client said she found me on LinkedIn by searching on the words “Global Coach” so it’s working. Using the right keywords should attract the right opportunities for you too so give some thought to what they should be.

Below are some examples of keyword-rich LinkedIn headlines.  They promote your brand and you can be found more easily for these areas of expertise because the right keywords are used. Notice on the third example, I spell out and use the acronym so you can be found no matter which way the person searches.  Adding the PMP is for those searching for project managers with Project Management Certification (but spelling out the title takes you over 120 characters).

• Passionate International Development Advocate, Project Manager & Policy Expert
• Bilingual accounting manager with expertise in non-profits and auditing
• Information Technology (IT) Executive with proven leadership in global project management (PMP)

Need more help on this topic?  Check out this quick read by Careerwise contributor Chris Kulbaba. He shares advice on formulating your headline.